Cat and dog foods are termed ‘food’ but most are not – legally – food. Most are feed or feed grade. The exception to this is human grade pet foods; human grade pet foods – legally – are food. It’s simple to understand what a human grade pet food is – all ingredients and all manufacturing processes meet human food law. But it is not so simple with feed grade.

The legal definition of feed grade is: “Material that has been determined to be safe, functional, and suitable for its intended use in animal food, is handled and labeled appropriately, and conforms to the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act unless otherwise expressly permitted by the appropriate state or federal agency (suitable for use in animal food).”

Explaining this definition piece by piece…

With “Material that has been determined to be safe, functional, and suitable for its intended use in animal food…”
Some feed grade ingredients have been scientifically proven to be safe and functional, some have not. As example in 2016, our consumer association (www.AssociationforTruthinPetFood.com) filed a Freedom of Information Act request with FDA asking for the science proving certain feed grade ingredients are indeed safe. We asked the agency to provide documentation to the safety of dead/non-slaughtered animals or diseased animals allowed to be processed into pet food. The FDA responded with “After searching our files, we did not find the requested records.” In other words, there has been no determination that some feed grade ingredients are safe.

Some feed grade ingredients are ‘determined to be safe’ only based on historical use of the ingredients – taking no consideration of what long term consumption of waste material (such as dead/non-slaughtered animals or diseased animals) actually does to pet health.

Meat meal being delivered to a pet food company (provided by a pet food employee).

With “is handled and labeled appropriately…”
Feed grade ingredients or pet foods are not required to be ‘handled’ – transported, stored – the same as with human food. As example a meat meal ingredient (chicken meal, beef meal) is delivered to a pet food company in a dump truck/trailer; not under refrigeration or in pristine conditions. There is no meat ingredient that is EVER delivered to human food in a dump truck. The term ‘handled appropriately’ means what is considered appropriate for animal food (which is not the same standard as human food).

‘Labeled appropriately’ means – as example – chicken by-product meal should be labeled chicken by-product meal, not chicken meal. It should apply to the finished pet food – such as a feed grade pet food should be labeled as Dog Feed or Cat Feed…but…it doesn’t.

And with “conforms to the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act unless otherwise expressly permitted by the appropriate state or federal agency (suitable for use in animal food).”
This means the pet food or pet food ingredient might abide by federal law, or it might not. Using the example of the pet food ingredient beef meal – beef meal is allowed through its legal definition to be sourced from non-slaughtered cattle; cattle that could have died from disease and laid in a field for 3 days, hauled to a renderer, ground and processed into beef meal. Law says any food that contains a non-slaughtered animal in it is illegal, but…FDA says it is ‘suitable for use in animal food’.

Now…here’s the part where confusion begins.

Not all feed grade pet foods source ingredients from non-slaughtered animals and not all feed grade pet foods have ingredients delivered in a dump truck. Some feed grade pet foods source 100% human edible ingredients and those ingredients are safely transported and warehoused under clean, refrigerated conditions. The problem is…trying to determine who is using quality ingredients and who is not.

Consumers who purchase feed grade pet food should ask the manufacturer some questions…

Are meat ingredients sourced from USDA inspected and approved for human consumption meats?

Are vegetable and fruit ingredients sourced from human edible vegetables and fruit?

Are ingredients transported and warehoused under refrigeration?

And then comes the trust part. You will have to trust the pet food company is being honest with you. Not all feed grade ingredients are bad, not all are good. Some pet food companies will be honest, some will tell you what you want to hear. Ask plenty of questions to determine if you can trust your pet’s life with a feed grade pet food.

By the way, this is where working with a good independent pet food store helps. Many independent pet food stores validate the quality and country of origin of each ingredient in every pet food they sell. They do the homework for you. (Ask your independent pet food store how they determine what pet foods to sell – ask what vetting they do on each brand they sell. Do they just repeat to you the marketing from the pet food, or did they do additional homework. Many do a lot of additional homework.)

One more thing…human grade claims on a pet food websiteis not verified information. Regulatory authorities do not scrutinize pet food websites (they should, they are considered an extension of the label – but they don’t over see claims on websites). Ignore pictures and claims of quality on pet food websites. On the other hand, consumers can trust the claim of human grade on a pet food label has been verified. One of the few things that regulatory authorities take seriously is a human grade claim on a pet food label – each pet food that makes this claim on their label is required to prove to the regulatory authority the pet food meets all of the legal requirements of human grade. Labels you can trust (just the words…not the pictures), websites you cannot.

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The advice to trust the label rather than the website is such useful information! I recently noticed that the “certified organic” (according to the website) cat food we were using no longer said “certified organic” on the can. When I checked the certifiers website, it said that their organic certification had been suspended last August! I probably wouldn’t have thought to check the can if you hadn’t mentioned it in an earlier post. Thanks for the heads up on this!

Well what people would really pay for, is a list showing who manufactures what. At this point, it certainly seems to be a weak link in the chain of custody.

A very long time ago, Susan had a program where IPS retailers were invited to join TAPF to be featured for their integrity. But there either wasn’t enough time to continue the idea, or not enough interest.

T. Allen, I’m one of those independent retailers who does tons of research. I wish I could tell you it is possible to find out everything important to safety and wholesomeness by being persistent and knowing what you are looking for, but it is not. One of the almost inadvertent revelations after the Evangers debacle was the name of the company that supplied its “beef” for the product, which was actually euthanized horse meat. That gave Susan the opportunity to research that company – Bailey Farms – and discover that on the same premises but under another business name it operated a local farm carcass pick up service. Bailey Farms represents a nearly invisible layer of pet food manufacturing. I have attempted to get the actual names of meat brokers and wholesalers of meat and by products which supply the companies whose brands I carry. It is next to impossible. Of the kibble makers, only Open Farm has opened up their entire supply chain in a way that permits research. Companies that will tell you the name of the farms where the animal ingredients were raised will NOT reveal the direct supplier. In the frozen raw realm, Vital Essentials is the one most transparent, and that is because they own the slaughter house and all the processing equipment from live animal to package. I am not convinced I will NOT be able to ultimately obtain this information, but it would sure help if manufacturers were inundated with demands for transparency here, from consumers and retailers. The invisible layer – brokers and wholesalers – are companies with reputations and are entirely investigatable, once you know who they are. Why this should be such a closely guarded secret I cannot imagine – unless there is a lot of carelessness and substitution of inferior quality product where it will not be caught. Companies say “Oh, no, that’s proprietary!” Why should it be? Or they try to dazzle you with meaningless jargon. One told me their facilities were all “category 3 – the highest category of meat processor.” Just Google that and you find NO mention of such a thing. I tell all my customers to learn to make nutritious meals for their pets from fresh, whole ingredients, and if they have to use kibble or canned, to rely on it as little as possible. I spend a lot of time teaching folks how. The industry is riddled with secrecy, deception and corruption to such an extent that I don’t believe it is possible today to get all the salient facts about any manufactured pet food, except for a few. Until that changes, we need to learn how to feed our animals as we feed ourselves.

Laurie, you’re really to be commended for doing the kind of research you do, and never giving up! I think we discussed here (a long time ago) that companies using the excuse of proprietary might not be intended to keep the consumer in the dark, as much as to guard their access to sourcing inside the industry. (Not that I’m defending them either). One thing we don’t know is the ratio of “top tier” (more trustworthy to not) of providers available. And companies wishing to protect themselves in the marketplace, may have tapped out these “best” providers. Leaving other companies in a weaker position. It could also be the preference of the providers (with solid contractual obligations) to dedicate their services for especially for the right price.

We’ve kind of found over the years not much really happens to “intentionally” benefit the consumer in favor of the manufacturer. Otherwise companies would be very proud to boast of their competitive edge and assurances. Indeed such information could be great marketing and sales tools. But we’re never allowed to (as you point out) see behind the curtain.

I am very glad to hear what you say about Vital Essentials. With the recent revelations about questionable product quality, I was getting a little nervous (again) about using raw. Even though I try to rotate different ways of feeding my dog. But you’ve really added to my confidence in VE. Their dedication to sourcing and manufacturing is important, because VE is one of the most bioavailable. And by the way, VE facilitates speaking engagements along with a nutritional expert in Independent Pet Supply stores (where I met the Rep.). And it was a very effective educational presentation.

Again – thank you for all the effort you put into your work. The only thing I would suggest (with a smiley face) is to break up your text into a couple of paragraphs for easier reading! Wink!

And a significant issue is that of “least cost mix” protocols, which dictate the pet food company continuously evaluating global sourcing metrics for ingredients, and then, changing suppliers and/or specific ingredients. Even if information was available, it may quickly become “obsolete” and meaningless…

Excuse my ignorance,I hope you can help me to understand : Since, Some feed grade pet foods source 100% human edible ingredients and those ingredients are safely transported and warehoused under clean, refrigerated conditions. how would these ingredients be different then “human grade”? Thank you!!

100% human edible ingredients transported under clean, refrigerated conditions are the same has human grade – the difference would be manufacturing. Unless a pet food is made in a human food manufacturing plant under Good Manufacturing Practices of human food, it still is feed grade. All requirements of the legal definition of human grade must be met.

Thank you. So Human Edible and Human Grade are the same correct? Any thing that’s not manufactured under Good Manufacturing Practices of human food are still feed grade and there for we are at the mercy of the pet food manufacturer to use fresh healthy whole foods correct?

Yes – human grade ingredients and human edible ingredients are the same. And yes, any pet food that doesn’t meet the full legal definition of a human grade pet food (human grade/edible ingredients, warehoused/transported according to human food law, manufactured under human food law) – we are forced to trust they have used fresh healthy ingredients, warehoused/transported those ingredients under proper/safe conditions, and manufactured the pet food under proper/safe conditions.

Unfortunately most manufacturers do not register their food in every state. While it is required, it is often not done. So even though a “human grade” claim is subject to scrutiny, that only happens if a manufacturer submits the label.
Worse, the states do not know how to scrutinize the “human grade” claims. Each state asks for different evidence – some care a lot and go all the way back to speaking to the actual facility where the food is made, and others just say the label looks great without asking anything about the claim (even though specific evidence should be requested.

Suggest you sign up for the petsumerreport.com – I discovered even those sounding really healthy were in BPA cans & I have a highly allergic cat! Without that info I would still have been in the dark. Now using Vital Essentials Chicken and she’s a much healthier cat; after we get the allergy report back I’ll know what foods she is allergic to and can make further decisions.